About
Our Vision
BEN Ventures invests into the ideas of talented, bright, and innovative students and recent graduates from top universities.
Our deal flow across fintech, blockchain, AI, and metaverse comes from our network we have been curating over the past 10 years.
Our History
BEN was established in 2014 by University of Michigan, MIT, and Stanford students with the goal to educate about blockchain.
Ever since, our alumni have founded some of the most valuable companies in the space: Augur, GDA Capital, SDM, Optimism, Iota, Injective, Roll, and many more.
BEN has created over a billion dollars in value from its network, and our aim is to create and capture even more value for in the decade to come...
Investment Thesis
- Scalable to impact 10 million people.
- Driven by academic research.
- New frontiers (Fintech, Crypto, GameFi, Metaverse, NFTs).
- Uses Blockchain/DLTonly where necessary.
- Has a unique competitive advantage.
- Precise go-to-market strategy.
- Purpose-driven founders with a minimum time commitment of 5 years.
- Founder-Market Fit
- Hyper focused team
- Young Dreamers
- Diversity Inclusion - Women/Minorities
- Strong Academic Background
- Showcase unique leadership values
Market Outlook
Gartner forecasts estimate that the value generated by blockchain will grow at a very fast pace by the of this decade, from $176B in 2025 to $3.1T by 2030.
Additionally, estimated that Blockchain will support the tracking of over $2T in goods and services annually . Blockchain is set to be transforming business.
According to Sequoia Capital, the 2020s is poised to be the Crypto decade; with the highest statistical probability of outgrowing other Fintech industries.
Our Thesis
BEN Ventures invests into the ideas of talented, bright, and innovative students and recent graduates from top universities.
Our deal flow across fintech, blockchain, AI, and metaverse comes from our network we have been curating over the past 10 years.
Team
Jeremy Gardner
Venture Partner
Jeremy Gardner founded BEN in 2014 while at the University of Michigan.
He has co-founded Augur, SAAVHA, Disrupt, and more. He has invested in over 100 startups as an angel and VC.
Jeremy is currently the Managing Partner at Ausum Ventures and Mystic Ventures.
Erick Pinos
Managing Partner
Erick Pinos is the President of the BEN. He is a metaverse investor specializing in virtual land.
Erick has a BS in Management from MIT, where he was the President of the MIT Bitcoin Club, as well as a researcher at the MIT Digital Currency Initiative.
Antonio Gomes
Managing Partner
Antonio is the Director of Operations at BEN, past president of Gator Blockchain Club, and a 2020 graduate of B.A at the Warrington College of Business.
Antonio worked for over a year at Oracle Inc headquarters with a proven talent for aligning business strategy, then interning at multiple VC firms and a Crypto OTC brokerage.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us at contact@benventures.vc
301-97251 Grand Rapids, MI 49546
